Ghana Music Awards bogus, biased - Gospel musician fumes-Anita Afriyie

Gospel Musician, Anita Afriyie has slammed
organizers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards
(VGMA) for organizing what she called “a biased
and bogus Accra-based” awards ceremony.
The Kumasi-based musician said her claim was
based on the fact that organizers of the annual
musical event only selects and award musicians
based in Accra only.
“They have made the award an Accra event, so if
you are not based in Accra, hardly do they
recognize what you are doing in the industry if you
are from outside of Accra…,” she said angrily.
The Adehye Mogya singer who was on Adom Fm’s
Entertainment Hall show with his producer said the
one-sided nature of the awards was making it lose
its credibility.
She further condemned the organizers for failing to
nominate her more than twice in the gospel
category of this year’s awards since according to
her, her album reigned the musical genre during the
year.
Her producer/husband, Daniel Kwabena Osei Jnr
who appeared with her at the Adom studios also
described the award as bogus stating that he was
given the organizers two weeks to name her in
more than two categories.
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The husband also joined her is singing the chorus
that it was time the VGMA award creativity in the
music industry and cease awarding people ‘who
sing Pentecostal songs and Catholic Hymns.’
He threatened the artiste would withdraw from the
awards if their demand is not met.
Her song, Adehye Mogya she said was so popular
to receive just two nominations.
The song “Adehye Mogya” from the album 'My
testimony' was nominated in the Gospel Artiste Of
The Year category which has No Tribe, Koda, Selina
Boateng, Gifty Osei, Joe Mettle, Anita Afriyie and
Evang. Diana Asamoah.
The second category is the Gospel Song Of The
Year which has:
Kyere Me Kwan – Emelian Arthur Feat. OJ & Esther
Smith
Yento Nkyia – Gifty Osei
Osabarima – No tribe
Alpha & Omega – Selina Boateng Feat. Uncle Ato
Nkwa Abodoo – Koda
Adehye Mogya – Anita Afriyie
Hymn (Pentecost Soree Nwom) – Evang. Diana
Asamoah

Music awards spark controversy

Controversy has ensued over the 16th edition of the
Ghana Music Awards nominations list after it was
announced in Accra Friday night at a ceremony
attended by key industry players.
Misgivings have been expressed about why some
names were missing in some of the categories as
well as the justification for placing certain songs
under categories they ought not to have belonged.
The enviable Overall Best Artiste of the Year
category is being competed for by Daddy Lumba,
Stonebwoy, Guru, Edem, MzVee, Sarkodie and
Samini.
Sarkodie had the highest number of nominations in
the 25 categories, followed by Edem and
Stonebwoy who seems to be having a jolly good
time, with a lot of people tipping him as a very
strong contender.
Reggie Rockstone and VVIP
The hiplife Grand Papa complained that his song
with VVIP, ‘Selfie’, had been placed under the hiplife
category whereas the song, according to him, is a
hip-hop song.
“‘Selfie’ is not a hiplife song; place it anywhere
except hiplife. I am the originator of hiplife and I
know what hiplife is. ‘Selfie’ is not hiplife but the
VGMA Board, on their own, decided to place it under
hiplife although we submitted the song for the hip-
hop category,” Rockstone complained after the
announcement of the list.
SAMINI
Samini’s nomination for the Reggae/Dancehall
Artiste of the Year category has sparked a huge
public debate, with many asking which Reggae or
Dancehall song qualified him for that category.
Indeed, his hit track, ‘Iskoki’, was surprisingly
placed under the category of Hiplife Song of the
Year, disqualifying it from the Reggae/Dancehall
category.
A more critical look at the list, however, shows that
Kaakie and Episode both have nominations for
Reggae/Dancehall Artiste when they did not have
any songs competing for Reggae/Dancehall Song of
the Year.
AKOO NANA & CASTRO
Akoo Nana was also seen fuming and almost
caused a scene after the nominations list was
announced and his hit track with Castro, “Mi
Yadaw”, was missing from the list.
Akoo and many others believe “Mi Yadaw” was
popular within the calendar year and made enough
impact to have earned it at least a nomination.
There were speculations that Akoo’s recent brawl
with Charterhouse, the organisers, may have
caused his elimination from the list though he had a
mega track.
Several pundits have also questioned Castro’s
absence from the Artiste of the Year category
though he enjoyed a huge audience appeal and had
some hit tracks in 2014.
Chase Forever
The smooth singer has expressed disappointment
with the 2015 nominations for Ghana Music Awards.
According to him, the nominations were a reflection
of claim that the awards ceremony is based on
popularity rather than an award scheme which
seeks to honour and encourage talents.
This musician gave this as the reason he did not
make it on the nominations list of the 2015 edition of
the awards ceremony.
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When contacted on Saturday, Chase told NEWS-
ONE that to him the awards ceremony was ‘not
credible.’
“…Ghana Music Awards or whatever; I think is not
credible to me because I feel like the people who
really work hard never see the light of day in that
place.
“It is just for a few people who are shining… It is
like a popularity awards. You take the Grammies;
somebody like Beck was nominated and people
here don’t even know who Beck is, to the extent
where Kanye West was able to say that Beck does
not even deserve it. It is not a popularity award,
you understand. People actually sit down and write
music, so can’t you take your time and listen to
songs word by word? … They don’t know what they
are doing. And if the song sounds exotic or foreign
you must still sit down and listen to it. It is not
acapella; there is a producer who worked on it, and
there is an engineer who worked on it,” he
expressed his disappointment for not getting on the
nominations list.
GALAXY
Another major disappointment that has been
expressed is how Galaxy, the most popular duo on
the music block, did not make it to the Best New
Artiste(s) of the Year category. Galaxy, under the
calendar year, had its hit song, Holla At Me, all over
the airwaves and the group played a lot of shows
yet did not make the list.
That category had names such as Episode, Pappy
Kojo, MzVee, Emelia Arthur, Wiyaala and Vybrant
Faya competing for the award.
Best Collaboration of the Year
As per the category definition of Best Collaboration
of the Year, the two or more musicians who came
together for that collaboration ought to have
generated a huge public impact and appeal. It is
therefore shocking that the VGMA Board settled on
gospel song ‘Alpha & Omega’ by Selina Boateng,
featuring Uncle Ato, for this category.
It makes it look as though the Board was only doing
the gospel fraternity a favour rather than
nominating the song based on the strength of its
collaboration.
Such a decision gives credence to the complaint
from Akoo Nana with regard to how his
collaboration with Castro, “Mi Yadaw”, did not make
it though it made a huge impact in the calendar
year.
Amazingly, the VGMA Board decided that ‘Alpha &
Omega’ by Selina Boateng featuring Uncle Ato made
more impact than “Mi Yadaw” by Akoo Nana and
Castro and therefore nominated it to compete with
‘Koene’ by Edem featuring Ice Queen and Lil
Shaker, ‘Baby Dance’ by 4X4 featuring Davido,
‘Adonai (Remix)’ by Sarkodie featuring Castro,
‘Seihor’ by Castro featuring D-Black, ‘Love Rocks’
by Sarkodie featuring Samini and ‘Baafira’ by
Stonebwoy featuring Sarkodie.

Castro's ghost stirs debate over VGMA nominations

Another season of Vodafone Ghana Music Awards
is here and no sooner had last Friday’s launch of
the awards and the release of the nominees list
ended than the controversies began.
“Why is Castro not a nominee for the ultimate
VGMA Artiste of the Year award?” the question
began with a buzz among some invited guests,
musicians and media present.
Castro’s popularity, especially with his 2014 release
Seihor and other collaborations with colleague
artistes such as D Black, Sarkodie and Akoo Nana
were cited as justification for him to be up there on
the Artiste of the Year list together with Daddy
Lumba, Stonebwoy, Guru, Edem, Mz Vee, Sarkodie
and Samini.
Above all considerations, however, was the
sympathy that many music enthusiasts have for
Castro following his mysterious disappearance
during a jet ski ride at Ada in July last year.
When such controversies have arisen in the past,
the organisers, Charterhouse, attempt with a
measure of success, to explain away their
decisions. This time, however, it appears they will
have a lot of convincing to do.
The official category definition for Artiste of the
Year clearly states that he or she “is the artiste
adjudged by the Academy, Board and general public
as the artiste with the highest audience appeal and
popularity.
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The artiste must have released a single or an album
during the year under review”.
The people who are doing the questioning say that
the artiste satisfies all the requirements of the
definition so “Why has Castro been left out?”
They insist that Castro, released a hit before his
disappearance, he had a very high audience appeal
and his popularity has virtually gone through the
rood especially since his absence.
Overall, Sarkodie received the highest number of 11
nominations on the VGMA list, followed by Edem
with 10, and Stonebwoy, Guru and MxVee receiving
six nominations each.
The poorest category surprisingly is the Highlife
Artiste of the Year which has only three nominees, -
Bisa Kdei, Daddy Lumba and Afriyie.
The richest category is the Song of the Year which
has as many as 10 nominees.
The latest addition to the categories is the Reggae/
Dancehall Artiste of the Year which boasts of a
strong field comprising Stonebwoy, Ras Kuuku,
MzVee, Samini, Kaakie and Episode.

Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes…- KOD tells media

Kofi Okyere Darko was on e.TV’s The Late Nite
Celebrity Show to talk about his 18 years on radio.
Popularly known as KOD, the former Radio Gold
host revealed he wanted to appeal to a certain
class of people hence his fashion choices.
“When I started, I wanted to appeal to a certain
class of people, and it came with dressing up
properly. And I mean once you work in the media,
it’s your profession and so you should dress well,
why should you wear a T Shirt because you are a
DJ. Dress well so people get to respect your job.
It’s very important because it’s better to be over
dressed than to be underdressed".
He revealed he had some political ambitions but it
weaned as time went on.
“Sometime back, I wanted to contribute from
parliament but they disappointed me. But that
interest has weaned down because I think most of
the politicians are a waste of our time. I read about
people who were part of the first republic and if you
know me, I am a big supporter of brand Ghana. I
support anything Ghana. My father was a director of
Prisons and growing up in the barracks you are
taught about being patriotic.
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I’m an Nkrumahist and a Pan Africanist".
On his new next endeavor after his eighteen years
stint on radio, he revealed;
“My mom passed a few years ago and my father
turned 85 and so I want to concentrate on the family
and I’m still nurturing the Nineteen57 brand".
KOD who owns clothing line Nineteen57 concluded
by advising the media;
“In complete darkness we are all the same; it’s
only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us. I
think one of things we are losing as a people is love
for each other. We need each other as a country.
There is so much hating in the country. People will
go ahead and say so much hateful things about you
without knowing any truth about it. That’s not good.
Those that support each other support themselves".
“I’m saying this especially because of the media.
Because in the media, as one man is going down
everyone wants to clampdown on you, so you die.
What if you find yourself in the person’s position
next time? There’s a song by Sting which says
don’t judge me, you could be me in another life.
Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.”

Bad time management is more serious than 'dumsor' in Ghana - Kontihene

Mi Gi Zi Gi rapper, Kontihene was on The KSM Show
to talk about his new direction in music.
The rapper currently promoting his Yaa Pono
featured track D3d33d3 expressed his frustration
towards the industry’s lackadaisical attitude
towards time.
“I think in this creative industry there are more
people in there who are not mentally sound. Excuse
me to say; there are so many people in this world
who wear neat clothes but you deal with them and
you see the frustration they will put you through.
“I pray we get a lot more wise people in the
industry. People who will live up to their words. An
example is you scheduling a meeting with someone
at 12pm and then they show up at 4pm or not show
up at all. Sometimes, some of them don’t care to
call or text you to tell you the reason why they
couldn’t show up.
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To me that’s frustrating and it’s like they are
wasting your life. I think it’s one major challenge we
have as a nation. I think that’s even more serious
than the dumsor; but people keep talking about the
dumsor every day. There are more core issues we
need to fix and transform our minds. In the music
industry, we have thousands of them in there.”
He concluded by revealing he is now reorienting
himself by finding the light and truth by reading a
lot.
“I’m reading a lot of the Bible and the Quran now. I
think the truth is in your mind; you listen to what
the religions are saying and make the decisions for
yourself.

Cecilia Marfo is ungrateful – CEBEX

Renowned music producer has accused gospel
musician, Cecilia Marfo of being ungrateful.
According to Charles Sarpong, the Chief Executive
Officer of CEBEX productions, the musician has
totally neglected him in spite of the huge invested
made to make her famous.
Speaking on Adom FM’s After Church programme
Sunday, the livid music producer said the ‘Afunumu
Ba’ hitmaker does not even return his calls.
“After promoting and investing in her music, Cecelia
Marfo has failed to show me gratitude” he
bemoaned.
Cebex as he is popularly called said through his
hard work and massive investment, Cecilia Marfo’s
song won the Best Gospel Song of the Year in the
2011 MTN Ghana Music Awards yet “she has
turned her back on me”.
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Mr. Sarpong said musicians should not forget that
before are the ones who take the glory when their
songs become a hit, the music producers
“I'm nobody to her but I don’t blame her because
the fans out there know her better than me,” he told
show host, Kwamina Idan.

Actress Nadia Buari gives birth to twins

Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari has given birth to
twins, Myjoyonline.com can confirm.
The actress, who has been absent from the
entertainment scene for some time now, was
delivered two bouncy baby girls last week. The
delivery probably explains her hiatus from the
movie and the media scene.
Father of the actress Alhaji Sidiku Buari confirmed
the news to Myjoyonline.com Monday morning.
He said “It’s true. She brought forth twins alright,
that is true. I’m confirming [it] as the father.”
Alhaji Sidiku Buari also disclosed that she gave birth
outside the country but won’t disclose where.
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It’s unclear who the father of the babies are but the
actress has for sometime now been linked to ‘Bad
boy’ Nollywood actor Jim Iyke.
After months, probably years, of speculations, Jim
Iyke proposed to Nadia Buari in March last year.
The actor proposed to the actress on one of the
editions of his hit reality show, Jim Iyke Unscripted.
Jim proposed with a six-carat-diamond ring while
having dinner with Nadia, who didn't hesitate to say
"Yes".